The Masterplan
by carlgluftgmail.com
Summary: While returning a mysterious Time Lord stasis pod to Gallifrey, the Eighth Doctor is embroiled in a cover up of epic proportions.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

In a dark vault of ancient masonry, a police box faded into view amidst a cacophony of wheezing and groaning. As soon as it appeared, it began to disappear leaving a twentieth century lorry in its place. A second later, it rematerialized next to the lorry.

The Police box doors opened, and a handsome young man in an Edwardian frock coat came out followed by a blonde girl in a safari suit and a purple haired waif in a jumpsuit.

"They've transduced the TARDIS into the old city beneath the Citadel," said the young man, his long auburn curls bouncing as he ran about inspections the vault they landed in.

"I expected something more futuristic looking for the Homeworld of the Time Lords, Doctor," said the purple haired girl. "But considering what your time ship's control room looks like, I guess this is right on the nose."

"This is ruins of the ancient city my people built the Capital over, Sally," said the Doctor.

"Where's the welcoming committee, Doctor?" Asked the blonde girl. "With a cargo of this important, it's a bit suspicious there's no one waiting for it."

"Excellent point, Charley," said the Doctor. "Let's try to find the nearest lift, and get up to the Citadel."

The Doctor led the girls through a labyrinth of abandoned tunnels, with only the light of his pen torch to illuminate the way. After some time, the three time travellers spotted a shiny, metal door up ahead. As they approached it, it opened. The bright light of the lift's interior temporarily blinded them.

"Doctor," came a voice from the glare. Their eyes adjusted enough to see three men in red and white uniforms exiting the lift. They each wore plumed helmets similar to morions, and one had a steel breastplate. "Where's the item you mentioned in your communique?"

"Back where you shunted is when we materialized," said the Doctor as the soldiers began to march off. "Wait, Commander! Where's the Lady President? She should be here. That's and artifact from our future…"

"It's not, Doctor. It was an experimental prototype. That's all."

"What do you mean, a prototype? There hasn't been so much as a prototype toothbrush in the last couple of million of years. What happened to abandoning the barren path of technology and all that?"

"It's just an ordinary prototype, Doctor. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"No, I won't excuse you, Commander! I demand to see the Lady President."

"She's occupied," said the Commander as he led his men down the tunnel.

"What do you mean, occupied?" Demanded the Doctor.

"Doctor, what was all that about?" Asked Charley.

"Nothing short of a cover up," said the Doctor. "And we're going to uncover it. Come on!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Doctor, do you know where we are?" Asked Charley as they wandered through corridor after corridor.

"Of course I do," said the Doctor as he stepped before a door and took out a metal cylinder from his pocket. "I think."

With a wave of his wand, the door slid open revealing a brightly it room filled with control consoles and monitor screens.

"Now, this is more like it!" Cried an exited Sally. "This is what I would expect from a race called the Time Lords."

Half a dozen soldiers in red and white uniforms turned around at the sound of Sally's voice.

"Hello!" Said the Doctor cheerfully. "I'm the Doctor."

"We know who you are," said one of the men.

"I need to speak to the President at once."

"She's not here."

"I can see that. Where is she?"

"Not on Gallifrey, that's for sure."

"What do you mean? You've lost the President?"

"She lost herself, Doctor. She's been missing for some time. That's why the High Council had finally ordered a new presidential election."

"You can't!" Cried the Doctor. "You know Romana, she's probably just stepped out to save the universe, it something. Sometimes, that takes a bit of time. Trust me, I know all about it. What's that?"

The Doctor planted finger on a monitor. The soldier looked at it, and said, "It's a power diversion to the under city. Probably has to do with you mysterious cargo you alerted is to."

"I alerted President Romana about it, not you. You Citadel Guard should know first hand that it's A crime to read the President's mail."

"Mail sir? If you mean the communique, you Missy realize without the Lady President being here, it reverted to approved channels."

"Approved channels, indeed!" Snorted the Doctor as he peered closer at the monitor. "What are you doing with all those men down there?"

"Probable the detail assigned to your cargo, sir," answered the guard.

"That's nowhere near where I materialized."

"Sir, I think you need to leave."

"Yes, I have a lot of work to do figuring what you lot are up to. Charley, Sally, come on. Charley! Where's Charley?"

"What?" Asked Sally, who was wandering around the room, examining all the equipment.

"Charley! She was here just a moment ago. Didn't you see here leave?"

"Sorry, Doctor, but I've never seen electronics like this before. I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"What about you lot?" Demanded the Doctor. All he saw was blank, indifferent faces. "Some kind of guards you are. Come on, Sally, we need to find Charley."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

While the Doctor was berating the guard, and Sally was engrossed in all the Time Lord gadgetry, a Citadel Guard snuck up to Charley, covered her mouth tightly, and forced her out the door she was standing near. Several other guards were waiting outside, and helped pull her into a nearby lift.

"How dare you!" Cried Charley as the guard let go of her mouth. "How dare you treat me like this. I demand you let me go. Doctor!"

The guard who first grabbed her drew his pistol, and said, "The Doctor can't hear you now, but what say we dispense with the shouting? There's a good human."

"I demand to know where you are taking me."

"To the old dungeon."

The old dungeon ended up being a series of holding cells in the under city. Charley was thrown in one, and the old, metal door was slammed shut.

Charley peeked out the barred window in the door, put her ear against it, and drew a bobby pin from her hair. She was surprised to see that the cell had only a mechanical lock on it, and she wondered at how old the under city must be.

With a click, the door was unlocked. Looking carefully about, Charley tiptoed out of the cell and tried to find her way back to the lift.

"Sir, you can't go in there!" Yelled a guard outside the opulent council chambers the Doctor and Sally barged into. Half a dozen men and women in various coloured robes, and tall, metal collars sat in throne-like seats lining the walls.

"I'm addressing the High Council of Gallifrey?" Asked the Doctor.

"You know where you are, Doctor," said one old man in orange and scarlet robes. "Guards, get this idiot out of here!"

"Yes, sir," said the guard whom the Doctor pushed past. He was soon joined by nearly a dozen more guards, all with pistols drawn. "Doctor, you and your companion are our prisoners now. Move along."

"I demand to see the Lady President Romana!" Shouted the Doctor.

"She's abandoned her post," said the Time Lord. "For this reason we'll be starting a new election. Now leave."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"What do you intend to do with us?" Demanded the Doctor as a small army of Citadel Guard shoved him and Sally into a cell in the under city.

"Execute you, of course," said the Commander as he removed the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and tossed it outside the cell.

"You've no right! The Constitution demanded that…" The Doctor's protest was cut short by the cell door slamming in his face.

"Why are they going to execute us?" Asked Sally, trembling.

"To cover up what we know, no doubt."

"What do we know?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Doctor!" Came a piercing whisper from outside the cell. Charley's face could be seen in the barred window of the cell door.

"Charley!" Cried the Doctor joyfully. "Where have you been?"

"In the same predicament as you. Hold on, and I'll get you out."

"This is Gallifrey, Charley. The sonic screwdriver won't work. The doors are dead lock sealed."

The Doctor was interrupted by the cell door swinging open, nearly hitting him.

"Apparently, Time Lord technology is vulnerable to bobby pins," said Charley, replacing the pin in her hair. She picked up the sonic screwdriver from the floor and handed it to the Doctor. "Your Sonic Screwdriver, Doctor."

"You're amazing, Charley," said the Doctor.

"Where are we going, Doctor?" Asked Sally.

"The Panopticon!" said the Doctor dramatically as he opened a set of double doors down a corridor they were exploring.

The enormous circular chamber rose as high as the eye could see. The laws were lined with tiers of hexagonal platforms upon which highly ornamented Time Lords stood. As soon as they entered, there Citadel Guard rushed them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Hello!" Said the Doctor cheerfully. "I'm here for the election."

"Get the Castellan," said one guard as he pointed a pistol at the Doctor.

"Castellan?" Asked the Doctor. "Andred! Yes, please get the Castellan."

A robed man, with a rather youthful appearance, crossed the hall with one of the guards.

"Andred!" Said the Doctor vigorously shaking his hand. "Castellan Andred. Congratulations on your appointment."

The Doctor dragged Andred aside, and whispered, "Where's Romana?"

"No one knows, Doctor," said Andred. "But you know the Lady President. She's very… hands on."

"Yes, she is," chuckled the Doctor. "Good old Romana. Andred, did the council issue an execution order on me?"

"Of course not. I didn't even know you were on Gallifrey. All the transduction orders are supposed to go through me. When did you get here?"

"Only a few hours ago, with an important cargo. Andred, do you have a group of Castellan Guard operating in the under city?"

"No. The under city is not a security issue. Apart from some Shobbogans painting graffiti down there, there's nothing there."

"Both the Doctor and I were held against our will in cells down there," said Charley.

"Andred, this is Charley," said the Doctor, "and this is Sally."

"Cool guns, by the way," said Sally.

"Andred is there husband of my old companion, Leela," said the Doctor. "How's Leela?"

"Her usual self," said Andred as both he and the Doctor chuckled. "Doctor, I'll look into this immediately."

"Do you mind if we brush shoulders with Gallifrey's elite?"

"There's no warrants against you, Doctor. Keep me apprised of any trouble."

"Can we trust him?" Asked Sally as Andred walked off.

"Yes, of course," said the Doctor. "He's a friend. Besides, Leela would kill him if he was up to any mischief."

The Doctor was heading towards a door on the opposite side of the Panopticon.

"Doctor, what is going on here?" Asked Charley.

"While Romana is off galavanting around the Universe," explained the Doctor as they passed through the door and climbed an elegant spiral staircase up, "someone had decided to use this as an opportunity to seize power."

"Who?" Asked Sally.

"Someone desperate," said the Doctor. "The office of Lord President of the High Council of Time Lords carries with it enormous powers. And I don't mean just political power. We're talking about unlimited access to the Matrix, the repository of all Time Lord knowledge. There's the relics of Rassilon, the founder of Time Lord society and science. Why, one could even extend their span of regenerations, if one was clever enough, and persuasive enough."

"Regenerations?" Asked Sally.

"When a Time Lord grows old it does, his entire body is rebuilt and renewed."

"Like a cat having nine lives."

"A Time Lord has thirteen lives. Four up on our feline friends. The High Council had the power to grant another round of regenerations to a Time Lord in his last life. But it's rarely done. I can't recall it ever being granted, but the power to do so resides with the High Council."

"And the President presides over the Council," said Charley.

"That's why he's called the President," said the Doctor.

"So you know who is putting themselves in this position to take over the High Council?"

"Yes, Charley. The fact that the under city seems to be his area of operations g I've him away."

"Who is it, Doctor?"

"Him," said the Doctor as they reached a landing.

Just inside the doorway was one of the floating, hexagonal platforms. Assist the handful of Time Lords upon it was a withered figure in tattered robes. It has the face of a skeleton, and in a reason voice, amplified by some unseen means, it spoke, "Time Lords of Gallifrey, Matrix prophecies point to future war, one in which the Time Lords may fall. We now have physical proof of it. A stasis pod of Gallifreyan design had been returned to Gallifrey, but to this time, it does not belong. It's is from the future. Besides me, here, is Captain Delvor, a soldier in that war, and a Time Lord from our world future."

"It's true," said a man in red and orange robes, "I've narrowly escaped a battle with Enemy reps. We lost a dozen War TARDISes in that battle. I'm the only survivor."

"Gallifrey needs a warriors to lead it," said the living corpse. "Only then can she survive. I am that Warrior. I am the Master, and I alone shall save Gallifrey."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Gallifrey already has a President," said the Doctor. "How did he get here? Someone been playing with the Extraction Chamber? Cardinal?"

The same Time Lord who ordered the Doctor and Sally arrested, said, "There's a war coming, Doctor. That pod was proof of it."

"Thank you for recovering me," said the Time Lord the Master had identified as Captain Delvor. "Even if it was to an earlier point in time."

"Don't thank me yet," said the Doctor as he turned towards the skeletal Master. "Why this incarnation?"

"The Thirteenth Master was the last pure Time Lord incarnation. Fourteen and Sixteen were…", said the Cardinal.

"Hybrids?" Asked the Doctor. "I wonder why that would bother you?"

"Gallifrey has chosen me, Doctor," hissed the Master. "They need a Warrior, and that's me."

"And you need a new cycle of regenerations, that only the High Council could grant. How convenient. What Gallifrey needs is to throw you back into the Extraction Chamber they pulled you from, don't they Andred?"

As if In reply, the Time Lords on that platform, Charley and Sally disappeared in a flash of light. They rematerialized in a brightly lit rectangular chamber. Three hexagonal consoles manned by Citadel Guard dominated the chamber. At the far end was a doorway. Beyond it was a strange scene: a throne sitting in the midst of flames. The flames were"frozen", the image of a single moment in time.

Andred stepped forward with a pistol in his hands. The guards quickly pulled their pistols and aimed them at the Master.

"You're going back to where you came, Master," said the Doctor taking a step forward, "even if I have to lift your pitiful self up and throw you in there myself."

The Master lunged forward, and grabbed Sally. He pulled her close, and to the horror of the onlookers, pulled her into himself. Flesh began to see appear on his skull, and he stood up straighter.

"Sally!" Screamed Charlie.

"No!" Roared the Doctor.

"That creature was weak," said the Matter, "but enough to make me more than a match for you, Doctor. I still have some of the powers of the Keeper of Traken. You've lost! Gallifrey is mine."

The Doctor lept towards the Master. Grappling him, he tried to push him into the doorway, but the Master was too strong.

"What have I done?" Asked the Cardinal.

"You've handed our world over to that monster, sir," said Andred besides him as he struggled to get a clear shot with his pistol.

The Master had his hands around the Doctor's neck, and had him on his knees. "Bow before your new Lord President, Doctor, and die."

The Cardinal bull rushed the Master. The Master lost his grip on the Doctor. The Doctor jumped to his feet, and with all his might pushed the Master through the Extraction Chamber's door.

"Now, Andred!" Cried the Doctor as the Master fell onto the throne amidst the flames.

Andred ran to a console and hit a control. The doorway closed, and Gallifrey was safe again.

But Charley wasn't. She was kneeling on the ground, sobbing. "Sally, Doctor. It...it…"

"I know, Charley," said the Doctor softly as he knelt down and held her tight. He turned to Andred, VC and whispered, "Get me a neural relay, human compatible. Now!"

"What did it do to her?" Asked Charley. "Can you save Charley?"

"Of course, Charley. But you need to relax. Just trust me."

"Doctor," said Andred handing him a small, oval device. "The neural link."

"Hold on to the other end, Charley," said the Doctor.

"Will this save Sally?" Asked Charley.

"Yes. Hold on to it. It won't hurt."

"Nothing happened."

"Just hold on to it a bit longer. It'll take a little while. Just relax."

"Doctor, I don't feel so well."

Charley's eyes rolled up into her head and she slipped backwards, caught firm in the Doctor's arms.

"Castellan," said a guard, "we've received a transduction request from the Lady President."

"I can't stay," said the Doctor lifting Charley in his arms. "You'll have to fill her in. You best arrest the Cardinal. Good luck cleaning up the Citadel Guard. I've got to get Charley back to the TARDIS. The neural block will ease her memories of Sally and our last few adventures."

"Is that fair, Doctor?" Asked Andred.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm supposed to heal people. I failed Sally. Maybe I can save Charley."

Charley awoke in the Doctor's armchair in the massive TARDIS console room. The Doctor was at the console, the Time Rotor rising and falling to indicate the TARDIS was in flight.

"Oh, I fell asleep," said Charlie as she stretched and rise from the chair.

"Get a good rest, Charley?" Asked the Doctor.

"I feel like I forgot something."

"Now you know what it's like to be me."

"I had a strange dream, though."

"Yes?"

"It was a about a girl with blue hair, or was it purple?"

"That depends on the lighting."

"What's that Doctor?"

"Nothing, Charley. Tell me all about your dream."

"I can't really remember anything about it. But I remember it was sad, Doctor. Very, very sad."

The End.


End file.
